One medic who spoke out against the hazard pay was 32-year-old Dr. Manuel Penton III.

He said: "That few extra thousand dollars, while it may make a big difference to some people, for me, most of that money is going to go back into paying off my student loan debt."

And last month, more than 500,000 people signed a petition asking Congress to introduce "forgiving" student loan debt for doctors in the next stimulus bill.

Meanwhile, dozens of health care organizations, including the American Medical Association wrote a letter to Congress asking for student loan of at least $20,000 for residents and early graduated medical students whose debt averages over $200,000 to be scrapped.

Many final year medics graduated early to join the frontline fight against coronavirus.

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